Embodiments of the invention relate generally to turbine blades and, more particularly, to the formation of cooling channels on a surface of a turbine blade and turbine blades including such cooling channels.
Turbine blades employed in high-temperature applications are typically a nickel-based super alloy and covered with a metallic bond coat and a ceramic thermal barrier coating. Embodiments of the invention facilitate improved cooling of a turbine blade, as compared to known configurations and methods of forming cooling channels. In turn, this enables use of the turbine blade in hot gas paths having a higher temperature, the use of a thinner thermal barrier coating, and a reduced cost, as compared to the use of nickel alloys. In some cases, cooling passages within the turbine blade may be simplified, since more of the active cooling of the turbine blade occurs at the blade surface. In addition, all cooling channels may be fabricated simultaneously, which reduces expense as compared to known methods of cooling channel formation, such as by water jet or electro-discharge machining.